Have a commercial spot that needs distinguishing from the competition?
From shopfronts to studios, great design starts at the threshold. Our commercial projects show how planting can define a space, elevate a brand, and soften the urban edge. Whether it’s creating atmosphere for hospitality or a calm backdrop for business, Michael’s designs use structure, contrast, and living form to turn hard surfaces into welcoming environments.
Visit Jungle Nurseries to see and shop the very plants featured in our commercial work, with hundreds more species on display at 57 Colson Road.
Commercial contexts
Client
Glen Johns Kitchens
Year
2024
Bringing structure, softness, and biodiversity to the urban edge
This project for the award-winning Glen Johns Kitchens shows how a simple approach can completely transform a façade, combining structure, texture, and life through well-placed container planting.
When the client moved into a new showroom, a cost-effective solution came through locally made fibreglass planters and a raised feature box clad to match the building. The result is a bold green frontage where structure meets softness: white planters break up the dark façade while a layer of Thuja hedging creates a living green wall above the 1.8-metre base.
This project is also a great example of container planting that can be translated into almost any setting, even without a “garden”. It shows how to achieve scale and an immersive sense of greenery with big pots and bigger plants in a layered design. Vertical elements are used to train plants up and over, softening architecture while maximising impact in compact or paved spaces.
Planting mixes the refined and the familiar, from the rare Ficus dammaropsis (Dinner Plate Fig) to native harakeke and cuttings of Grandma’s fuchsia. Across eight planter boxes, more than 30 species form a living case study in urban biodiversity: something for the bees, something for the birds, and something simply beautiful to catch the eye.
shop
the LOOK
Step inside Jungle Nurseries to explore the living palette behind this project. Many of the plants featured at Glen Johns Kitchens installation, such as the silvery-blue Blue Chalksticks, the glowing crimson Iresine, and the lush architectural Monsteria, can be found in our showroom. Each has its own story: Monstera’s distinctive leaves have appeared everywhere from modernist interiors to Vogue Living spreads, Blue Chalksticks’ colour and form have earned praise in The New York Times and Architectural Digest, and brings timeless texture and calm. Visit us to browse these and many more species, plants chosen not only for their beauty but for their ability to bring structure, softness, and life to every space.
